Fans of Four Loko alcoholic “energy drinks” are about to discover that their favored concoction, which blends the downer that is alcohol with the upper that is caffeine, is about to lose that speedy sensation, thanks to the vigilant work of the FDA. Alcoholic drinks that contain caffeine are now officially on the Food and Drug Administration’s warning list and have been banned in several states already, making them instantly more appealing to youngsters across America. –KA

The New York Times:

The popularity of the drinks has exploded over the last few months, and there have been numerous reports of young people falling ill after drinking them. A brand called Four Loko — a fruit-flavored malt beverage that has an alcohol content of 12 percent and as much caffeine as a cup of coffee — came under particular scrutiny after students who drank it this fall at Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J., and Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash., ended up in emergency rooms, some with high levels of alcohol poisoning.

On Tuesday, Phusion Projects, the Chicago company that makes Four Loko, said it would stop putting caffeine in the drinks. The company’s founders said in a statement that while they still believed it was safe to blend caffeine and alcohol, they wanted to cooperate with regulators.

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The FDA says that it could seize the illicit beverages and prevent their manufacture if the regulator perceives a continued violation.

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